


the last of the real ones.

by Carter_theFandomCat



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Hurt Tony Stark, Insecure Tony, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, Not Beta Read, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Steve, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Tony Has Issues, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 09:02:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17936819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carter_theFandomCat/pseuds/Carter_theFandomCat
Summary: i was just only an only child of the universe, then i found you.tony was used to the idea of never worrying about his soul mark. lucky, it does all the worrying for him.alternatively, the trash steve/bucky/tony fic no really wanted.





	the last of the real ones.

**Author's Note:**

> this is trash, i really could've done better. written for winterironshield bang.

*This a re-write of the MCU from IM1 to CA: CW, and will ignore movies like Thor, and IM3. IM3 doesn't exist either does AOU, CA: CW.

In all honesty, Tony knew that at some point, everything would come crashing down. 

He hoped it would be later than sooner.

 

|

_ Tony doesn’t believe in soulmates.  _

Of course, Tony did have his pre-mark, the black blob where his soul mark would take color or shape in the future. It sat on Tony's upper right thigh, no bigger than 6 inches. 

He kept it hidden from the world, people often speculating that Tony was a rare one, someone who didn't have a mark, cursed to walk the earth without an equal one. 

It wasn't hidden from everyone though. 

Rhodey found out about the mark after the first year of being roommates, and ironically, best friends. It had been an accident, Tony had slipped up and revealed it, his cheeks a bright red once he figured it out.

Rhodey had laughed, pushing up of his sleeve to show the airforce logo stamped on his upper left arm, the mark shiny and gleaming against his dark skin. 

Tony sighed in relief, and at that moment began a bond that could never break.

After MIT,  Tony wouldn't really bother with the mark much, going through weapons building and expos galore.  But not once did anyone else see the blob that sat on his skin.

Until Pepper that is.

Pepper became a force in Tony's life, all 5'9 and blonde hair of her. She helped to push Tony is to take matters into his own hands, despite all life could bring. It was in Los Angeles, where Pepper would have just a little too much to drink, spilling out that her own mark was on her shoulder, a small television with a teacup on it. 

The next morning, she profusely apologizes, but instead, Tony would blush and show her his own black blob and it was then Pepper finally became his second friend.

Happy knows for years before Tony manages to spit it out one rainy afternoon. The tall burly man doesn't show him the mark, but Tony's sure that his matches with Pepper. (He'll pull bragging rights when they do figure it out.)

For a while, Tony stays content with the mark, not too worried about it, and manages to flourish Stark Industries with it.

|

The next person to see the mark was Yinsen.  

Tony lays on an old, battered mattress with a hole in his chest when the blob appears for just a second, before hiding under a pair of pants. Yinsen doesn't bring it up in the beginning, but Tony can clearly see the white dove on his neck,  _ Hope.   _

They build for days and days, the promise of freedom so close but yet, so far away. 

So when Yinsen takes his last breath on that cold floor and Tony has no choice but to break away alone, it burns a fire within him, and seemingly, in his mark as well. 

It almost breaks him to become Iron Man and breaks him to be betrayed by Obadiah, the taste of blood in his mouth as the arc reactor is pulled from his chest.

He's able to take the spare and fight against him, even if it costs Stane his life.

_ "I am Iron Man." _

He knows it goes against Coulson's words, but he doesn't care.

Not anymore.

A few months later has him dying, it scares him. Tony thought, at maybe one point, he would be okay with death, but there's this urge to stay alive, just to hold out just a little bit longer.

The concoction Tony tries can only buy him so much time, the time he so desperately needs. He makes Pepper the CEO of Stark Industries, builds Rhodey several suits, and tries to make sure Happy can live in peace.

But still a part of him still wants to live, craves to fight _ just one more time _ . And that fight comes in a pile of boxes sent Fury over with Coulson, a note attached, "More than meets a Stark's eye."

Inside the boxes, there were plans for a Star Expo fairground, and funny enough, Howard had hidden the plans to figure an out a whole new element.

Tony bargains that if he creates the new element, he might just have a chance to save his life.

So he does, he takes his father's plans and creates a whole new element. A part of him feels giddy as if this was the path he was meant to take. 

It gives him renewed energy and for a minute he lets himself  _ breathe, he's okay, he's not going to die. _

|

A year later has Tony watching along with the rest of the world as Captain America is pulled from the ice,  a feeling of hope and happiness rushing through him.

For the time being, he ignores it, but a little voice inside his head always reminds him of it.

It's not long before things around him start to change.

It's little things, like how the air around him seem sharper or how the sun seems to be brighter during the day. Constantly, he'll hear the voice at the back of his head, whispering odd things about the world around him. 

Tony tries to ignore it, tries to not pay it any mind, but it's always there, always whispering,  _ always waiting. _

The inventor spends his time split with working on new items for Stark Industries and keeping himself busy with Iron Man. He doesn't even notice now time flutters by, the rest of the year almost over, as the new year rings itself in.

He got the call at 7:45 pm. Or more like the call comes barging in through the doors, naming itself Agent Phil Coulson.

He brings a folder, a thick brown folder with Shield's stamp on and by the look on Agent's face, things look grim.

Tony's brain picks up on the important aspects of it,  _ God, Tesseract, Steve. _ His brain rids itself of anything he had planned and he spends the rest of night reading, JARVIS and Tony becoming Astrophysicists overnight.

With the next day arriving, He bids farewell to Pepper, who's soft eyes warn him to come back, safe and okay.

On his way there, the voice works in overtime, whispering like crazy. Tony tries to bury it down, but it's persistent, worming its way through him, almost uncomfortably. When he touches down on the Helicarrier, he gives himself a moment to breathe, to put on the mask he was so used to having on. 

When the baby agent escorts him to the main area, he can see that at the main table is a one, Steve Rogers, Natasha or Natalia or whatever name she was using at the time, a big buff blond man, and standing next to the table was Doctor Bruce Banner. Tony introduces himself, messing around with Nick's spot in front of the helicarrier. 

He knows that he should tone down the cockiness, but he enjoys it, loves the rush it brings him.

When he meets Steve for the first time, Tony loves seeing how proper and prim he is, from the way Steve speaks to the way he's dressed. It burns a light within Tony, and just for a second, the voice stops whispering. Then while Steve's talking on a ramble about something, he smiles and oh boy does Tony's heart race, something he hadn't felt in a while. 

|

The next 48 hours rush through, and sometimes Tony can't tell what's going on. From finding secrets within Shield to Loki taking over the helicarrier and killing Phil, the only thing that Tony can positively remember is the wormhole.

It's burned forever inside his brain, the coldness and the darkness that seemed to envelop him. Tony can remember not breathing, his brain screaming at him to wake up.

He can still hear the roar that ripped from the Hulk's mouth, almost shocking him back to life. 

His eyes burn and everything hurts, but he feels at peace with the hand that running itself over his body. When he finally opens his eyes, he first sees Steve, sweet and proper Steve talking to him, trying to get him to respond. 

He feels very out of it, only managing " Shawarma? Let's get Shawarma."

Steve smiles and oh boy...Tony's screwed.

After Loki's been squared away and the team gets cleared by medical, they sit down in the only restaurant open, the shawarma smelling so many delicious as the group of 6 devoured down their meals. The conversation is light-hearted between them, almost quiet as a mouse. 

Steve sat next to Tony, the two spend most of the time in a whisper as well, the topics staying broad. The rest of the evening of the evening is left in a quiet somber. Tony leaves a generous tip for them, and the group is transported back to the helicarrier.

Between clean-up and reports, Tony stays busy, trying to get the tower and most of New York back on track. During his days, he works overtime to try help parts of the City rebuilt. He’s often joined by Steve, working together to clean up alien technology or even repave streets. 

It’s tough work and some days Tony’s incredibly tired, but it makes up for it when Tower is rebuilt and he city looks a lot better than before.

After a few months of the Avengers being scattered around the world, Bruce is the first person to move into the tower as a permanent place. It comes when Bruce sends Tony a letter from a little town from a country Tony can’t even name.

Soon after, Bruce moves in, glad that he doesn’t have to run anymore, finally safe, a bit in a very flashy way. 

Next, is Tony’s wonder twins, as they actually liked to be called Nat and Clint. This comes from not wanting to use the helicarrier as a place for downtime, on the rare occasions they have it. 

Once Thor has got Loki back on Asgard and stowed away, he also returns, even if he stays and goes for random times.

Finally, Steve moves in after a stint in DC, pulling missions from Fury whenever he can. He and Tony get along like wildfire in the summer, Tony helps him navigate through the new century, and Steve really gives Pep a helping hand when Tony goes in inventing sprees.

And for a while this works, the Avengers work in tandem together and feel like a family, and Steve manages to pull on his heartstrings long enough for the voice to start whispering again.

|

Almost a year after the battle of New York, Tony wakes up in a flash, breath raggedy and unstable, he feels like he’s on fire, and it takes a minute to realize that he had a nightmare again. Pushing himself, he moves softly from his bed to the door, a yawn dredged from his mouth as he walks the distance from his room to the elevator, where JARVIS silently takes him to the main floor of the tower. It’s quiet, aside from the soft whir from the building, but as Tony makes his way from the elevator to the kitchen, he sees the faint light from it. 

He tips toes, and when he makes to the kitchen, he sees the tired form of Steve hunched over the counter. He’s nursing a cup of coffee, only looking up when the sound of Tony’s feet is audible to him.

“Nightmares?” Tony offers. Steve just nods, and soon the two sit in solitary silence together,  nursing cups of coffee together as the sun slowly rose in the sky.

It becomes a somewhat-weekly occurrence between the two of them, in which Tony begins to seek Steve after nightmares and vice versa. 

Steve brings him coffee and various snacks down to the workshops, while Tony keeps Steve’s mind distracted by the newest Inventions.

It’s weird and awkward but they somehow make it work.

|

Steve’s almost positive that he’s falling for Tony.

It all began after Tony got back from the Stark Expo, and from his almost run with Killian.

Steve sees Tony sitting on the couch, all soft while Bruce bandages him up and something inside of him flutters. 

He feels guilty afterward, the ghost of his mark oh so heavy on his skin. He rubs the bit, a rush of memories between Bucky and him that make him smile.

_ He’d want me to move on _ , Steve thinks, _ even if moving on is the hardest thing to do. _

He moves on from it and goes back to thinking about the little flutter in his chest. 

When Steve sees Tony working on repairs for DUM-E, grease on his hands and just a smidgeon his cheek, he finds himself wanting to rub off the grease from Tony’s cheek. He drops the sketchbook in his hands. Tony looks up, all smiles while cleaning off his hands, joking about his own clumsiness. 

It makes the flutter in his chest a lot more prominent.

Steve watches Tony at dinner, watching the way he interacts with everyone around him, the way his hands move around frantically when he talks.

Natasha watches the way Steve watches.  

|

It all comes crashing down the day Steve and Natasha are shipped out to DC.

It begins as a simple rescue, only for Natasha to hide her mission from Steve. From there, he meets Sam Wilson, a former pararescueman who now works veterans. Sam has a soul mark proudly worn on his hand, a pair of black cat ears with purple woven through it.

When Same points out Steve’s own mark, he blushes, and a memory of both Tony and Bucky laughing float to the service. 

It shocks him, but he pushes it down to deal with it later.

Sometime later, he gets a text from Tony, with the words “ Some fishy at Shield, caution.”

It brings a chill down his spine and shows it to Natasha, whose lips are pulled into a tight line. The next day, Clint is attacked during a Mission in San Pedro, the beginning of many unfortunate wrongdoings. 

Nick is “killed in action”, while Steve is attacked in Shield by the STRIKE team, people he worked with once or twice.

He grabs Natasha from the Hospital where Nick is located, the two making their way Sam’s house for cover. 

Steve manages to get an SOS to Tony before the phone is destroyed by Nat, “ for protection. ” 

Clint manages to track down the two during the night, the words, “Shield’s fallen,” tumbling out his lips even before he has a chance to sit down. 

“The others are on lockdown with Tony, he’s fine.”

Steve lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. 

 

The four of them come up with a plan to drive to one of the former Shield bases, to see what’s going on.

It’s during the car ride that Natasha brings up the Winter Soldier, a name that forces Clint to hit the brakes, a groan releasing from his mouth.

“The Winter Soldier is credited with a half dozen assassinations and is believed to be a myth. “

“Literally no one thinks he exists.”

Steve looks concerned, the forehead wrinkles prominent on his face. “If he could be?”

The question lingers in the air for the rest car ride. From there, they find a barrack, too close for comfort. 

Zola’s face is etched on each one of these computers, the haunting face mocking them, taunting them. It’s not until the missile heading for them cuts the faceoff,  the four hiding a designed ground cover that just barely covers them. They make it out only partially unscathed, heading towards an old safe house that Tony always kept around, patching themselves up as best as they can.

The next plan is to grab Sitwell and interrogate him, Steve asking the questions, Natasha the one who pushes him off the building, and Sam Wilson the one who catches him.

Sitwell brings up the three weaponized helicarriers, to be used to assassinate almost 5 million people.

Clint whispers “Hostiles, let’s get it going,” throughput the earpiece, forcing the five of them to scramble out of there. 

In the car, Sitwell brings up how Hydra needed Nick dead in order to Pierce to take over, and how once the helicarriers are up, there’s nothing stopping them.

They’re driving down a freeway when a loud thud hits the roof of the car. Its allow most like slow motion when a metal arm comes through the window.

`It’s a fight over tooth and nail from there. 

The car is flipped over as Sitwell is dragged and shot on site, the four scrambling around, trying to take cover. 

Steve and the masked man fight each other, throwing punches back and forth as Natasha, Clint, and Sam fight former STRIKE members. 

The shield bounces off the mask, throwing the man back as he drops to the ground. 

He stands up, his long hair covering before he looks up.

“Bucky?”

Steve can’t believe it, Bucky is standing in front of him, 70 years later.

_ “Who the hell is Bucky?”  _

Steve is forced to his feet by Rumlow, pushed into a van with two other armed guards. It’s quiet between the six, the sounds of the car, and slight moans coming from Clint. One of the guards pulls out a stun gun, sticking it towards the guard as the shock electrocuted him. 

The guard takes off the mask, Agent Hill’s face popping up. 

“Let’s go.” She took a circular disk from her pocket, putting it on the floor as she pushed a button from a trigger. It lights up, sticking itself to the floor and begins cutting through the car, and eventually through the asphalt.

When Brock and the members look through the car, they noticed the empty van.

Maria leads them throughout the tunnel, only stopping when she leads them to a storage facility, far outside the city.

A doctor rushes towards them, taking out a stethoscope to Clint, Maria stops him. “Not yet, they’ll want to see him first.”

She takes them towards another door, opening it to both Tony and Nick.

“How?”

Nick pulls a syringe from his pocket, tossing it towards Steve. “As it turns out, that this does a lot of things.”

He begins to explain how to he had to fake his death, in order to flush out the HYDRA operative ties.  

Tony pulls out a tablet, pulling the information for  _ the three helicarriers.  _

|

Tony can’t remember much, as the last three days have been such a blur, but yet it made perfect sense. When he gets the text from Steve, an SOS, he begins to immediately put the lockdown on the tower, sending Pepper home with Happy while Bruce and Thor stay cooped up. JARVIS starts running tracers, and the information doesn’t shock Tony. 

Infiltration dating back to the 1950s, and it takes him even longer to pull out the hardest file, one on the Winter Soldier.

When Tony breaks the code on the folder, his mind goes blank as the voice starts whispering again. 

It’s Bucky Barnes.

James Buchanan Barnes, taken from the snow where he had presumably died in, used as a killing machine  _ solely only for the purpose to work for HYDRA.  _

It makes Tony’s stomach churn just thinking about it. 

From there, he rushes to the base when Hill calls him, leading in a room with a man he thought was dead.  His mind races to bring down the helicarriers and stop the little bit of Hydra inside of Shield. 

Steve’s safe, a bit banged up, and for Tony,  _ it’s going to be okay. _

That is until Bucky Barnes shows up to the tower one late rainy night. 

Bucky is tired, tired of running, hiding, trying to regain the little memory he has. Each memory makes him, but the blond man, he makes it worth it. He’s seen his face in some of his memories, sometimes a little smaller, and sometimes on a battlefield at the same size.

He followed their trade back to New York, in this overly-massive tower with the Stark name on it. 

It’s not hard to sneak in, but the guns in his face? 

_ So not worth it.  _

Steve lets Bucky go through the door, heading up the stairs. 

It brings him happiness, happiness that Bucky’s alive. Even though he still feels something for Tony, he knows that he can finally be with Bucky, if it’s possible. When he goes to bed that night, he lets himself cry for the first in a while, crying for Tony and Bucky.  It haunts him though, the something he feels for Tony still ever so present within him. 

 

 

Tony’s tired and it shows. The feeling that he had shoved down and hidden inside him for Steve was now broken, hurt by the fact that he knows, even with missing memory, he’ll never compete with Barnes. 

_ Stark Men are made of Iron _ , he thinks to himself, burying him with the next project, BARF.

BARF was going to try to help Bucky’s brain to remember certain memories while trying to break down the “bad” memories.

It’s long and tedious work, but after a few weeks, he makes progress. 

The first time Tony really meets Bucky is sometime after his BARF sessions. Tony’s working on updating Iron Man tech, when JARVIS announces his presence at the workshop. He freezes, taking a deep breath before turning around, letting him in. 

Bucky walks in, looking a little pale but fine nevertheless.

His flesh hand is holding his metal arm, sitting down in a chair that Tony points to.

“So what’s up, Barnes & Noble, got some trouble with the arm ?”

Bucky raises a brow, slowly nodding as he places his arm on the table. “It’s one of the gears. I’d do it myself but it’s stuck.”

His voice sounds gruff and tired, but he keeps his eyes on Tony.

Tony rolls away from the table, moving towards one of his tool boxes. It has his more precision type tools, taking the box and setting it down next to Bucky. Pulling out multiple tools, he wheels next to him, waiting for Bucky’s approval.

He nods, and Tony begins the work. The gear is stuck in an awkward position, and Tony has to move several times in order to the piece in working order.

“Okay Buckaroo, all finished. But seriously, this whole arm needs major work, it can be done with the right parts if you want to. Totally up to you.”

Bucky nods and in a flash in gone from the workshop.

Tony is confused, confused on everything but the motto repeats itself inside, Stark Men are made of Iron. 

Bucky is even more confused than, the sudden feeling of a flutter churning inside him. It’s weird, but the feeling goes away just as fast as it leaves. He heads up to another level, watching when Steve walks into the room, that same feeling bursting through him again.

Natasha knows somethings up, she knows that Steve and Bucky and Tony are all acting weirder than usual. She’s seen Steve’s soulmark, and wonders if it’s the same as Tony’s. It makes her wonder even more because it’s common knowledge that Steve and Bucky share the same mark.

She finds out her answer the same day.

Bruce and Tony’s project had blown up, causing a gas cloud inside the lab. They both had to decontaminate in the shower, to amusement to Nat, who had been outside when it happened. She sees a glimpse on his thigh and  _ oh.  _

_ That’s a problem, _ she decides.  _ Oh well _ , she thinks, time for them to figure it out for themselves.  

Tony, after the high-pressure shower and the terrible smelling soap, needs an enormous cup of coffee and at least a   minimum inventing binge. 

Steve and Bucky are holding hands, the two looking up when Tony walks in.

_ Oh Shit  _

|

Tony doesn’t want to believe it. Even though he can see it clearly and he knows it true, apart of him just hurts.

He starts to spend more time in his workshop and tries to spend most time avoid the wonder twins. He lies and claims that work for Stark Industries is overwhelming, but Bucky has this irking feeling that’s not the case. 

Bucky knows Steve’s hurting, from the semi-longing glazes and the searching for him when anyone walks into the room. 

When Bucky goes to the workshop for repairs, he can tell that Tony’s hurting. It's obvious from the dark circles to the slight jitteriness that he can see in his hands. Still, Tony puts on a smile and jokes around, making sure everything looks tip-top shape.  

Sometime during movie night, Tony curls up against Natasha with the old western playing in the TV, for some reason, it makes Bucky jealous, his metal curling up in a fist. It’s not enough for Steve to notice, but Natasha sees it out the corner of her eye. 

She pulls Tony a little bit closer, and Bucky has to bite his tongue. 

At breakfast a few weeks later, Tony walks out in a three-piece suit, complete with his red shades on top of his head. He’s all smiles as Bruce and he rambles over something technical. Bucky doesn’t realize the spoon in his hand is bent.

Steve, on the other hand, shatters the coffee mug he had in his hand. Bucky looks toward the table, to Steve, and to Tony and it hits him like a truck.

 

|

Tonys has been here for at least 20 minutes, trying to muster up the courage to head inside and speak to  _ Steve and Bucky. _

_ His soulmates. _

It almost burns on the tip of Tony's tongue and it definitely burns on his leg where the mark  _ is etched on to the blank skin. _

Of course, Tony only knows for a while, ever since Bucky’s official membership to the Avengers.

It's created a weird tension in which three of Tony had yet to ever speak on the matter.

_ But of course, in Tony’s usual fashion, it exploded right in his face. _

_ And it explodes in Tony’s face, as a mess of tears, sweat, and a little bit of blood. _

_ They've been taking down Hydra bases one by one, and this mission, he had been paired with Bucky, due to the ability to be able to work efficiently together. It was all working great until some Hydra bastard managed to catch Tony and shoot Tony in his leg. _

_ In haste for Tony to get medical help, Bruce had to cut off Tony’s pants leg, showing the very mark Tony tried so very hard to hide. Tony had been pretty out of it not to notice that both Bucky and Steve had been staring, mouth agape and jaws slack. _

_ A few days later, Tony sat in his room, having been on bed rest, as orders from Bruce when Tony get a message on phone from Nat. _

_ The Spider Queen: _

_ They know. _

_ Tony Stank: _

_ Do you mean?? _

_ They Spider Queen: _

_ Yea. saw it on the jet. _

_ Shit. _

_ Tony's heart dropped to his stomach and all Tony wanted to do was run. _

_ Why run? _

_ It's obvious, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes were everything. _

_ They are America's Sweethearts, the power couple, it couple, the two lovers bounded for life. _

_ And Tony? _

_ Tony's nothing but a stick in the mud. _

_ How is Tony supposed to compare to star-crossed lovers whose love has lasted over a century?  _

_ Oh, Tony could see Tony now, the headlines that would emerge, " Avenger's homewrecker breaks up America's power couple." _

_ Tony scoffed, the pain in his heart is greater than the pain in Tony’s arm. _

_ So, Tony did what he does best and run. _

_ Because if Tony run Tony don't have to worry about his heart ever being broken. Is it the smartest idea? _

_ No. _

_ | _

_ Tony ends up packing one his suits and uses his good leg to climb into the vents, climbing until he got to the car park. _

_ Taking one of the keys off the shelf, Tony pick one of his older Mustangs, climbing inside to driver’s side of the car. _

_ Sitting in the car, Tony once again try to muster up the courage to actually leave when Tony’s phone starts ringing like crazy. _

_ " Captain Spangle's" name pops up on the screen, the phone ringing until it goes to voicemail. " Borky Barnes" then shows up, until the phone goes back to voicemail. _

_ The names keep popping up until Tony get tired of the ringing, turning it on silent and throwing it into the backseat. Tony brush off the tears then managed to escape his eyes and decide to at least getaway, even if it's only for a few hours. _

_ If Tony hours later find Tony sitting in the back of the Mustang, munching on Shake Shack fries while the pitter patter of rain helps to calm Tony’s already erratic nerves. Softly in the background, as Tony eat, a mix of Lo-Fi Hip Hop from a playlist on his phone. _

_ Since leaving the compound the phone calls have stopped, but the super soldiers continue to barge Tony’s phone with text messages. _

_ Captain Spangles: hey, can we talk? _

_ Borky Barnes: Doll, did you leave the compound? Are you okay?? _

_ Captain Spangles: Please don't leave. _

_ Borky Barnes: Sweetheart, please don't shut us out. _

_ Tony saw each and every text message come in, but never responded. _

_ One part of Tony thought it was petty, running away like a pendulum child, but another part of Tony thought it would be better than heartbreak. _

In the end, his leg got the best of Tony and with a slightly heavy heart, decided on returning back to the compound.

|

By the time Tony made it back to the compound, the rain had gotten worse as Tony pulled into the car park.

Sitting inside the car Tony can feel the nervousness again, the fear of rejection bubbling inside of Tony.

The fear of drudges up anxiety Tony felt when they found out, the  _ exact same mark as them etched on the skin and for the second time again Tony felt tears on his face. He wiped in a rush, for in fear that someone would see. He picked himself up and muttered the words, “Stark men are made of Iron.” and went about his day.  _

Tony still like this for at least 20 minutes, until knocks on the window force Tony to look up.

It's Tony’s favorite  _ and only _ redhead assassin.

Tony unlock the passenger side, watching as she climbs into the car and shut the door.

Tony opened his mouth to say something but she just shushes Tony and pulls Tony into her arms, muttering Russian words of comfort to Tony.

She lets Tony cry because she knows Tony need this, needs Tony to feel the range of emotions, so she can force some sense into Tony.

After crying for a few minutes, Tony stop, using a napkin to wipe his tears away.

"Why are you scared?"

It makes Tony still, the napkin crumbled up in his hand.

"I don't, I don't know how you want me to answer that."

She sighs and it's clear that's not the answer she wanted.

"Okay then," she starts, moving so she's looking directly at Tony, "Why are you so scared of them loving Tony?"

Tony sigh, brushing off some crumbs from his shirt. "Why can't I be scared," Tony mutter, not able to look her in the face.

"Why should you be, there's nothing to be afraid of. Why are you acting like a child?"

Tony does say anything, but to Natasha, the silence is worth a thousand words.

"Oh, idiots."

Looking towards her, Tony can see her shake her heard, angry words of Russian slipping from her tongue.

"It's because they're together, right? You don't think you’ll fit with them?"

Tony mutely shake his head, wringing his fingers together.

_ "Oh, honey." _ She pulls Tony into another hug and like the idiot he is, starts crying again.

She puts her hands on his shoulders, rubbing in comforting circles. "Tony need to speak to them."

"Why? I can't take heartbreak, you and I both know that."

"How do you know that?"

"I-" Tony cut Tonyrself because Tony knows she's right.

_ How do you know if you're going to be rejected? _

_ Tony needs to wake up and stop being a big baby,  _ Tony tells himself.

Pulling away, Tony look towards the stairs of the compound, the rain splattering from them.

"Go," She says softly, unlocking Tony side of the car. "You'll never know if you don't try.”

Pushing open the door, Tony take a breath and run out of the car, heading towards the stairs. Despite running his fastest so as to not get soaked, Tony ends up drenched as Tony push open the door into the building.

Tony hear FRIDAY's voice greeting Tony as the key scan unlocks for Tony, but Tony accidentally cut her off, asking about Steve or Bucky.

"Mr. Barnes and Captain Rogers are both in their quarters."

Tony look towards the mounted camera and give a nod, letting her know Tony got it.

Shoes squeaking and dripping water everywhere, Tony head towards their room, nerves completely shot.

By the time Tony get to their door,  so nervous Tony feel the energy rushing inside of Tony, daring to come out.

Taking a deep breath, Tony knock twice, taking a step back to let them answer the door.

It's Bucky that opens the door, eyes slightly wide at seeing Tony at the door. Steve's right behind him, also shocked at seeing Tony at the door.

"I, uh. Hi."

"Hi."

Bucky lets Tony in, as Steve grabs a towel for Tony. Tony use it to dry off his hands and face, along with the tips of his hair

They let Tony sit on their comfy chair, as they both take the edge of the bed.

The first couple of minutes an awkward to begin with, no one knowing quite what to say. It's Steve that begins, if it's his sigh is any indication of it.

"Are you alright, you’ve been gone for a while?" He starts, unsure of how Tony's going to react.

Tony nod, once again wringing his fingers." M' fine. Just had to get out for a bit."

Steve and Bucky share a look as if they know that's not the truth.

Tony keep Tony eyes to the floor, almost as if looking at them will hurt more. It goes quiet again, the only sound being the soft whirr of the compound.

Bucky opens and closes his mouth, seemingly unsure of what to say next.

"Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room." Bucky looks directly at Tony, Tony can feel his stare on Tony.

It unnerves Tony, apart of Tony wanting to shrink into a small hole.

Tony shake Tony head, fingers wringing as Tony speak."Rather not."

"I think we're going to have to."

Tony nod, eyes still to the floor. Steve stands up, moving closer to Tony.

Shifting uncomfortably, Tony move toward the edges

"Do Tony honestly think that I fit into this relationship?" Tony turn around, frustration was written on Tony face. "I'm not one half of America's "it" couple. I don't belong. "

Bucky matches Tony frustration, a frown etched on his face. "Belong? Why does Tony have to belong anywhere?

"We're soulmates. All three of us."

"Did Tony really think that we wouldn't care about you? You’re the third piece to our puzzle."

"I, I uh okay."Tony smile, pushing away residual tears as

Tony head spins, and Tony sit down and try to make light of the new information. The two super soldiers next on either side of Tony, their fingers lingering next to Tonys.

"I don't what I'm doing."

Steve laughs, pulling Tony closer to the two of them."Us either."

The three of are squished in one large hug, Tony in the middle of a supersoldier sandwich. Steve has his lips on Tony forehead, Bucky's were somewhere in Tony hair.

Tony felt safe. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> if you made it this far, you need a medal. thanks.


End file.
